Nasty habits
by OtterAndTerrier
Summary: [COMPLETE] After the destruction of the first Death Star, Han finds Leia dealing with the loss of her home planet.


**A/N:** Dear loyal people who follow me for my RHr stuff: _I'm so sorry_.

Two months ago, prompted by everyone's incredible enthusiasm for Star Wars, I made myself finally watch these movies, and I couldn't believe what I had been missing. Han and Leia were a big incentive, too. A while ago, I came up with this idea after reading a BlueMilkSpecial gag strip about Leia and the commentary below, and I thought, okay, but what if? The new _Princess Leia_ Marvel comics explore the issue of Leia dealing with the destruction of Alderaan in a great way, and so this is set before she decided to… do what she does in the comics. Anyway... all disclaimers apply; please be gentle. I may be a newbie but I have a lot of love to give.

 _PS: I am not abandoning RHr, I promise! Hopefully I'll be able to post something else soon! Thanks for sticking around :)_

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 **Nasty habits**

In a dark crumbling area of the old temple, sat on a fallen boulder, was the last princess of Alderaan. She was still in her white ceremonial gown, and her face was illuminated by the red glow of a cigarette—a surprise to Han, much like everything she had said and done from the moment they'd met.

He nodded in thanks to Chewbacca, whose nose had helped finding her, and the wookiee growled quietly before turning and walking away.

'There you are, Your Highness,' he said, moving into her range of view.

Leia, who had almost fallen off her boulder at the sound, threw him an annoyed look before saying, 'Oh, it's you.'

'No need to sound so pleased, princess. Why are you hiding?'

'I'm not hiding,' she said haughtily.

'Really? I guess it's all right if I go back and tell everyone who's been looking for you that you're just back here smoking, then,' Han said, half turning on the spot as if to leave.

'No!' Leia exclaimed, half rising, her forehead creased with worry. 'Please don't... are they really looking for me?'

'Nah,' he said with a smug smile. She scowled when she caught his game and fell back into her makeshift seat.

'Was that ruse really necessary?' she snapped.

He didn't answer, sitting on another fallen piece of stone instead.

'I didn't know you smoked,' he commented.

'I don't. Smoking is a nasty habit. You will forget you saw this,' Leia said in an authoritative tone. There was the princess, where a second ago she had looked almost a child caught in wrongdoing.

'Are princesses not allowed to smoke?'

'No person in a position of leadership should have vices. They are a mark of weakness.'

Han snorted.

'Says who?'

'I do. My father did.'

'How is smoking a mark of weakness?' he asked, failing to see her reasoning.

'It's a substance you depend on to get by,' she explained. 'If the people who rely on you see you need something outside of yourself to get by, how can they really follow you?'

Han stared at the princess' profile. She was holding her cigarette between her fingers, but she hadn't taken another drag since he'd let her see him, afraid perhaps that it would serve as proof against her morality. Despite her small frame and young face, there was something about her that made her seem older than her years.

'You gotta stop taking yourself so seriously, princess,' he said at last.

'If _I_ don't take myself seriously, I can't expect other people to do it, can I?' Leia retorted. He pulled a face to mean that he didn't know and he didn't care. With a calculating glance at him, she brought the cigarette to her lips again and let out a cloud of smoke, coughing slightly.

'How come you're indulging in vice if it's so disgusting, then?'

'To get by,' she said simply, not looking at him.

'By what?' Han insisted. This time she rounded on him, glaring.

'By what?' she repeated angrily. 'My home planet was destroyed; my family, friends, the people I grew up with, gone. Some will consider that reason enough.'

'I know, I just wanted you to say it,' Han said, feeling a twinge of guilt at his method.

'What?'

He picked up some loose pebbles and threw them one by one into the darkness of the chamber, listening to the clatter.

'People expected you to be more emotional at the ceremony,' he said with an airy shrug. 'Luke said maybe you hadn't processed it yet.'

'I can't afford being emotional, captain,' she said, her voice chilly. 'I will honour my people the best way I can: by making sure they didn't die in vain, that their ideals live on. If I dwell on the past, I won't be able to do that.' Despite her firmness, her voice wavered over the next words. 'There is—there is no time for sorrows. So for now, I smoke.'

She held his gaze almost defiantly, and her brown eyes glinted slightly red as she took another drag. A choked cough followed.

'In any case, I don't do it often,' she said as an afterthought, her silver necklace shining in the moonlight coming from a ruined window as she shifted in her seat. Han blinked, aware that he had been staring at her for too long.

'You don't say,' he teased.

'Were you looking for me for any reason or did you only come here to hassle me?'

'Ah, I admit it's always a pleasure to make you yell at me, Your Mightiness,' Han said, 'but I came to tell you I'm off scouting with Chewie and the kid.'

'You're not taking your payment and leaving, then?' Leia asked, raising an eyebrow.

'Not yet. I'll make sure you—r people,' he quickly corrected himself, 'are out of this system before the Empire's on you.'

Leia nodded, her expression softening.

'Thank you. We really appreciate your help.'

He bowed his head mockingly and was about to stand up and leave when she spoke again.

'You said you came back for Luke,' she said slowly. 'And now you're making sure we leave safely. Is it also for Luke's sake or...? Might it be the Alliance got to you a little bit?'

 _The Alliance!_

'Don't get your hopes up, sweetheart,' Han said, tugging the cigarette from her lips right after she'd put it there. Then, he took a long drag amidst her outraged protests, put out the butt with his heel, and got to his feet. 'And you're right, it's a nasty habit…'

He gave her one last look over his shoulder, taking in her astonished expression.

'But everyone has weaknesses.'


End file.
